Her Sister’s Lie

Music teacher Hannah Roscoe, the narrator of this nail-biter from British author Howells (Part of the Silence), is dismayed to learn that her sister, Nina Tyrell, from whom she has been estranged for 10 years, has died in London, leaving Hannah as next of kin to raise Nina’s sullen, uncommunicative 15-year-old son, Abe. The responsibility weighs especially heavy on Hannah, because she’s reeling from a recent breakup with her boyfriend, Matt Elliot, who precipitously left her without explanation. After Abe relocates from London to Hannah’s village in the New Forest, disturbing things happen: a strange woman starts asking about Hannah in the village and tells people about her breakup with Matt; she hears someone outside her home, but when she looks no one is there; and several students who come to her for music lessons suddenly quit. When Nina’s death is ruled a homicide, the murder investigation threatens to reveal a dark secret the sisters shared for years, putting Hannah in serious danger. Fans of psychological thrillers will be rewarded. [em]Agent: Juliet Mushens, Agency Group (U.K.). (Aug.) [/em]